


A Handsome Problem

by ZaryaZeigler



Category: Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom, borderlands 2 - Fandom
Genre: Blood, Borderlands 2, Branding, Corruption, Cybernetics, Gore, Guns, Handsome Jack (Borderlands) Being an Asshole, Handsome Jack - Freeform, Insanity, Lasers, Possession, Reader Insert, Rhys the company man - Freeform, Sanctuary, Second Person, Space Opera, TFTBL, Technology, rhys - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-02-20 07:44:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22013983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZaryaZeigler/pseuds/ZaryaZeigler
Summary: You got shipped off from Promethea on behalf of Rhys for a cool gig alongside the best Vault Hunters ever: The Crimson Raiders. But, things start going south as soon as the voice of a long dead tyrant takes over your systems and you find yourself becoming someone else.....
Relationships: Handsome Jack (Borderlands) & Reader, Mad Moxxi (Borderlands)/Reader, Maya (Borderlands) & Reader, Rhys (Borderlands) & Reader, Vaughn (Borderlands)/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 74





	1. Home at Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and your new friend Ellie spend some quality time together.

“What I wouldn’t give to be out there with them,” you said, dreamily watching Lilith and her team progress through the satellites. You had only been off Promethea for a week and you were already completely taken with the idea of becoming a vault hunter. 

“Careful there sugar, you’re drooling,” Ellie teased as she welded a new contraption together. 

You face went red, “Come on Ellie, you gotta admit how cool it would be working as a Vault Hunter! I mean, taking down the destroyer, taking down Handsome Jack...Lilith’s done it all! And she’s looked awesome while doing it!”

Ellie smirked, and grabbed a sheet of scrap metal “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you had a crush on her.”

Your face went red, “Wh-what! Come on Ellie! I never-she never-“

“-Oh calm down Y/N,” Ellie giggled. “I was just pokin’ fun at ya. Y’all so cute when you get flustered.”

“Cute!?” You sputtered. “Flustered!? I never get flustered!?”

“If you say so,” Ellie clicked her tongue and wiped machine oil from her brow. “Welp! There we go!” One plasma gun ready for shootin’. We should load it up on the truck and take it for a test while we’re here on Pandora. What’d ya say Y/N?”

“Ye-yeah! Sure of course!” You said, trying to keep the nervousness out out of your voice. You were born and raised Promethean, but everyone in the galaxy had heard of the hellhole that was Pandora and you were less then eager to venture out into it willingly. 

“I say we head up to mama’s and get a drink, sound good hun?” Ellie asked.

“O-oh, uh, I don’t really drink,” you said, twiddling your thumbs. 

“Ah, that’s ok. I’ll get mom to whip you up some juice and a sandwich.” Ellie grabbed you by the arm and drug you up onto the upper deck.

The Sanctuary ship was huge and you were very reliant on Lilith and Ellie in order to get literally anywhere. You couldn’t even make it down the hall without getting lost. You tried to remind yourself to download a map into your cybernetics, but you just got lost on your way to the digital archives. 

The doors to Moxxie’s bar slid open and Ellie dragged you over to a bar steel. “Hey ma!” Ellie greeted.

“Hello sweetie. Here for a drink?” Moxxie turned and your heart stopped. It always did when you saw Moxxie. Her beautiful eyes, dramatic make-up and flawless body. She smiled sweetly at you, “Oh, and you brought your little cyborg friend too.”

Your face went the colour of a tomato and your eyes darted to the floor. Ellie snickered and she plopped down on a barstool, causing it to creak dangerously under her girth. “Nah, Y/N is cooler than a cyborg mama, she ain’t machinery. And trust me I know a machine when I see one.”

“Well,” Moxxie brushed hair out of her face and leaned over the counter. “What can I get you and your ‘not cyborg’ friend?”

“I’ll have hard whiskey, and she will take some Billaberry juice and a sandwich,” Ellie said.

“Juice!? Are you not a drinker?” Moxxie asked surprised. 

You shake your head, “N-no...not really, it messes up my wiring…”

She tutted, “Aw, poor thing. I’ll be sure to get your orders right away.”

“Thank you…” you squeaked out as Moxxie turned to the kitchen. Her hips swayed as she walked and your face heated up. If you really wanted to, your ECHO eye could easily X-ray through her clothes, but you liked Moxxie, and didn’t want to disrespect her like that. You like to think of yourself as an honest person. 

“Don’t get flustered, huh?” Ellie snickered.  
You elbowed her. She just continued to laugh, your hit not causing any pain due to her protective layers of fat.  
“Anywho, what’d ya think of Sanctuary? Not like your fancy Promethean warships, huh?

“It’s amazing,” you said honestly. “Promethea makes everything in its factories, but Sanctuary was made by human hands. And that’s pretty incredible that you and the others have the ability to build stuff like this.”

“Aw shucks, ain’t you the heartbreaker,” Ellie said. Moxxie re-entered and placed down your drinks and food. You muttered a quick thank you, not making eye contact and trying to look as small as possible.  
“Don’t slouch like that, y’all will end up with a messed up spine.”

“My spines already messed up,” you grumbled, adjusting your shirt collar to show Ellie all of the metal ports in your back.

Ellie nudged you, “Oh c’mon. Your little tech gizmos are cool. Hot even.”

You snorted, “Well, seems like I’m not the only heartbreaker after all.”

Ellie took a swig if her drink and leaned on the bar table, causing it to crawl under her weight, “What gotcha into Vault Huntin’ anyway? There can’t be much talk of Vaults on a big city like Promethea.”

“My boss,” you responded. “Rhys used to be a Vault Hunter of sorts. He’s really secretive of his past though, he gets tight lipped and nervous whenever someone mentions it. All I could get out of him was that he used to work for Hyperion and somehow found a Vault key through a business deal. Rhys wanted me to represent Atlas here alongside the weapons agreement he made with Lilith.”

“So he forced y’alls into comin’?” 

You shrugged, “More or less, yeah.”

Ellie gestured for a refill “Well I hope we haven’t been too unbearable to be around.”

“Unbearable?” A snort escaped. “Hardly.”

Just then, Claptrap, the little robot of whom you’ve grown quite fond of, zoomed into the room, whirring with stress. “Rookie! I got an urgent message from Lilith.”

Your eyes widened, “Lilith!?”

“Ya-Huh! She said that she needs you at her location in an outrunner ASAP. The core mission has gone awry.” Claptrap explained frantically.

“Well, so much for relaxation,” Ellie sighed, heaving herself off the barstool. She turned to you and winked. “What’d ya say Y/N. Ready for some field work?”


	2. Power Cores

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Ellie give Lilith a hand with her mission.

“Y/N, I hope you’re close by, these bandits are relentless!” Lilith's voice came in through your earpiece, sounding stressed and tired.

“Don’t worry, me and Ellie are inbound,” you assured, setting your course up on the mapping system. You could already see red burst of fire in the distance where Lilith was teleporting

“Hold tight Lil, we’re almost there!” Ellie yelled from the gunner seat behind you.

She blasted everything in your path as you zoomed through the desert, it was obvious Ellie didn’t spend a lot of time outside the mechanics shop.  
You trusted Liliths judgement when it came to the good of the crimson raiders, but often she didn’t think far enough ahead in her plans. For example her current plan involved taking power cores from one of the old Hyperion facilities and using them to give power to sanctuary.  
However, she didn’t stop to think whether or not bandits would be there which led to her group being woefully unprepared for combat

You took a deep breath and prepared yourself as you neared the facility. You pulled back the break, and the outrunner came to a screeching halt.

You saw Mordecai and his team were surrounded, you would have to trust Ellie to kill the bandits without hurting your own men.  
A couple of the bandits tried to run your car, only to be blasted to bits by the machine gun. You flipped a switch, “Plasma blast charged!” You yelled

“Lick my chubby taint you bastards!” Ellie let out a woop as the gun laser carved through the bandit horde. You silently thanked the heavens that she was careful enough to avoid incinerating Mordecai and his teammates.

As soon as the bandits were reduced to ash, you flipped the switch off.

“Aw, cmon!” Ellie whined. “I was just gettin’ started!”

You chuckled lightly and exited the vehicle.

Lilith teleported nearby, panting and covered in blood and dirt, “Good timing, killer. You really saved our asses.”

You flushed slightly and rubbed the back of your neck, “Hey, don’t mention it.”

“Woohoo!” Ellie jumped out of the gunner seat, causing the entire car to jostle. “Did y’all see me! I was like, pew pew pew and them looters were all like AHHHHH!” 

“Yes Ellie, it was truly a sight to behold,” Lilith smiled.

“Do you guys need any extra help?” You asked. “I can hack the facility's security defenses so they don’t cause you trouble.”

“But that takes the fun outta shooting stuff,” Mordecai huffed. 

Lilith elbowed him, “We have had enough ‘fun’ to last us a week. We are lucky we didn’t have any unnecessary casualties when those marauders jumped us. Y/N, Your help would be greatly appreciated. We need help getting those doors open too.”

You smiled, happy to be useful and headed to the entryway. The huge metal doors were clamped shut, a banner of yellow paint proudly advertised Hyperion.  
A holographic terminal stood nearby, flickering with disuse. You cracked your knuckles before typing on the panel, booting up the system and adjusting the signals.  
The door slid open with a loud whoosh of hydraulics.  
“Ta-da!” You said proudly.

Mordecai looked at you suspicious, “How'd you do that?”

“Y/Ns from Promethea,” Lilith explained. “They used to be a coder for Atlas.”

You sheepishly held your hand up to reveal the soft glow of cybernetics beneath your skin, “My boss paid for these implants so I could do field work with you guys.”

“My mama Moxxie had her boss paid for implants too,” Ellie chimes in. “But a different sort of y’all catch my drift.”

Mordecai ignored her “Well, seems you’re a nice asset to the team then,” he shrugged. “Maybe you’ll come vault hunting with us sometime.”  
You felt you heart flutter at that. You always wanted to be part of a team.

Just as you suspected, the facility was crawling with security. Loader bots and constructors patrolled like watchdogs, shooting everything that moved. You and Lilith sat behind a crate, watching them.  
“Alright, the security centre is up there,” you whispered, pointing to a lit up booth overlooking the facility. “Somehow we gotta get past all these guys without getting their attention.”

Lilith winked. “Leave that to me, killer.” You felt Lilith wrap her arms around you and next thing you knew, you were teleported across the room inside the security booth. You gasped and collapsed to the ground, feeling like you’ve been winded. “Whoops, my bad. I forgot my powers can be a little hard on people.”

“I’m fine, I’m good,” you wheezed, scrambling to your feet. “I’m just fantastic ...I’m gonna take care of the security in my fantastic state.” You stumbled over to the terminal and pulled up a hologram of all the controls. “Alrighty, just a password here and a little hacking there and we...should ...be...good! There!” Loud static sounded as the Loader bots and constructors powered down. 

Mordecai, Ellie and the others came out from behind a crate. He gave you the thumbs up and you returned it.

“We’re in!” You said smiling at Lilith. You snapped your fingers and a tiny hologram of the facility popped up with three blinking dots indicating energy signatures. “I downloaded a map to find us the quickest way to the power cores. The quickest path is-“ you stopped mid sentence as another signature popped up. “Huh, that can’t be right....” 

“What is it, killer?” Lilith asked, peering at the map.

“It says there’s another energy signature, but there should only be three cores….”

She squinted, “Maybe it’s a robot? A rogue Cl4P-TP unit maybe?”

“I don’t think so, most robots don’t send off energy signals this strong. I should check it out.”

“I’ll come with you. It might be something dangerous.” Lilith insisted

“I would appreciate the help, but the raiders need their commander, I’ll be fine on my own.” You handed her the map “You help others with the cores and I’ll meet up with you later.”

Her brow furrowed, “Are you sure?”

You smiled playfully, “Of course! Besides, I’m 20% technology, remember? Atlas programmed me to be a badass.”

Lilith smiled and shook her head. You were no badass and she knew it. You were the most awkward person on Pandora, and yet she put faith in you. “Alright, I trust you. See you around, killer.”  
In a flash of red light, she teleported back to the others. 

You took a deep breath. Your first self-appointed solo mission for the Crimson Raiders. Cool.

You looked into your memory files and pulled up your own map. You set a course straight for the energy source. It wasn’t too deep in the facility, but it was well hidden. It would involve slipping through a lot of old passages and hoping they worked.  
You hoped luck was on your side


	3. Virus Manifesting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your little solo mission doesn’t go as planned.

Your cybernetics were your only source of light in the hidden passages. You were like a neon blue flashlight.  
It had been obvious that this part of the facility hadn’t been entered in a very long time. The twisted passageways and crannies were filled with duct and old unused machinery. After navigating yourself through the tunnels, the map finally led you to the power source.  
To your shock, it wasn’t a power core or a power room, it was a tiny chip on a pedestal. The room was dark, illuminated only by you and a few power outlets.  
It almost looked like a bunker room if it weren’t for all the equipment scattered about. You approached it cautiously, suspicious of what kind of device had such a strong power signature. Its energy vibrated through your systems and the whole of the facility. Was it a weapon? A virus? A machine?”  
From what you could see it was a just a tiny little chip, seemingly harmless.

“Hey, Lilith?” You called in through your communication device. 

“Everything alright, killer?” Lilith's voice came in, slightly staticky due to signal interference.

“Yeah, everything fine, there’s just this weird device causing some crazy high energy waves.” You reported. 

“What do you mean?”

You approached it cautiously. Upon closer observation it seemed to be a disabled ECHO device. But the power signals were incredibly high for something disabled. You stumbled over something. Looking down, you found a box, proudly displaying ATLAS.  
“Lilith, I found an Atlas crate down here.”

“What?” Lilith sounded just as confused as you. “That makes no sense, the Atlas company was long dead by the time Hyperion came around. Do you think Rhys had something to do with it?”

You looked around, “I don’t think so ...whoever put it down here hasn’t been back in a very, very long time.”

“Here, send me your location, I’ll get Mordecai to deal with the last power core. Don’t touch anything, it could be dangerous.”

You frowned, “Dangerous? But-“

“-No buts!” Lilith cut you off. “I’m coming down. I repeat, do not touch anything. That’s an order.”

“Yes Commander,” you grumbled before cutting the connection. You sent the coordinates and decided it wouldn’t hurt to poke around a little more. It wouldn’t hurt to look, right?  
You edged closer to the device, but immediately jumped back as it started to light up.  
As soon as you leapt away, it went dim again. Confused, you leaned towards it again. Once again, it glowed in response. It took you a second to realize that it was responding to your cybernetics.  
Cautiously, you brought your hand closer to it, It glowed brightly.  
A spark shot out from the device right into your finger. You helped and jumped back as the electricity zapped your systems. A warning system appeared in your cybernetic eye, indicating that a virus had entered your system.  
“Shit!,” You swore and tried to message Lilith only to have another warning that your systems were shutting down.  
A harsh jolt ran through your body, like someone was shoving electricity into your heart.  
You heard laughing and a loud echoing voice before you collapsed to the ground. Your vision went dark and your systems shut down

————————————————————————

“Stay with me, killer!”

“Are they going to be ok?!”

“What happened?”

Voices swirled alongside the beeps of heart monitors. through the haze of unconsciousness you were in. You groaned and shifted slightly. You were on a bed, a very hard uncomfortable one. It must be a medical gurney in Tannises lab.  
You opened your eyes. Your organic one observed the faces of Lilith, Moxxie, Ellie and Maya all looking down at you concerned. Your ECHO eye seemed ...different. Everything was scanned, and seemed to be more advanced then originally programmed.  
You blinked, as if that would fix it. It did not.

“Thank god you are ok!” Lilith sighed

You groaned and sat up on your elbows, “Wha-what happened?” 

Lilith looked at you incredulously, “I was going to ask you the same thing! I thought I told you not to touch anything!” She scolded. One moment I get your signal, the next, you are unconscious and emitting enough energy to charge a power plant!”

“What!?” You looked at her in suprise. “You mean...all those energy signals….”

“Somehow got from whatever device was down there, into you!” Tannis finished, coming into view with a med kit in hand. “Isn’t it incredible!? I managed to collect the ECHO device that had originally held all the energy, but it’s useless now that all the data is in your systems. I simply must do tests!” She pulled out a large needle and proceeded to flick it.

You practically jumped off the hospital bed. You had enough needles to last you a lifetime, “No thanks, doc…. I feel fine!”

Ellie narrowed her eyes, “You sure about that, hun?”

“Actually…” You realized that you did feel good. Great in fact! It’s almost like the virus improved your tech. Everything seemed in higher detail through your ECHO eye and your mind felt clearer and confident. “...I feel great…”

Tannis sighed, “if you say so. Shame, I was planning on doing so many fun tests” She set the needle down, causing you to exhale in relief. “Well, if you have any trouble, you know where to find me!”

You nodded and turned to exit. Lilith grabbed your arm and pulled you to look at her, “Are you sure you’re alright killer? That was a lot of energy absorbed into your systems, that can’t be good.” 

You smiled at her, a little nervous at having her attention for so long. “I promise I’m fine. Can I please go get proper sleep now?”

Lilith smiled and unhandled you, “Of course. Thanks for all your help by the way. Your maps and security bypassing helped immensely. All power cores are here in the ship. Mordecai was right, you could be a great Vault Hunter.” 

Your face went red and you smiled at her, “Thanks commander.”

She waved you off, “Don’t mention it, now go get some rest, killer.”

You headed off down the hall to your room. The people of sanctuary greeted you with enthusiasm, having heard of your assistance during the core mission. 

“Nice work!”

“I had no idea Promethea had such badasses!”

“Rhys really knew what he was doing sending you to sanctuary!”

It felt…..amazing. Being praised made you feel good, you were never the centre of attention. Back on Promethea, there was always someone better then you. The change was welcomed.

You yawned and shut the door behind, eager to jump into bed. You flopped down on your bed and bundled up for sleep.

————————————————————————

Your dreams were so vivid, you swore you could feel them. It was like living the life of an entirely different person. 

In a small room, you sat beside the bed of a woman, cradling a tiny baby girl. The floof of hair on her head was raven black and one of her eyes were bright grey while the other was green. She smiled up at you, showing a mouth of toothless gums.

The next moment, you were being shot at, it was a jarring shift from the previous scene. The woman lay dead next to you, blood pouring out everywhere as she stared blankly into the sky.  
“Angel! What did you do!?” The yell came from you, but it wasn’t your voice.

Suddenly you were in a battle scene. You could hear alarms blaring above and the mechanical whirl of guns. You were fighting against soldiers who wore a symbol you didn’t recognize. By your side was a beautiful woman dressed in western clothes, a man with large mechanical implants and a woman with a shield. A feeling of euphoria and glee filled you, you were having fun. You and the western girl raced through the facility, gunning down everyone in your path and laughing together. 

Then you were in a place seemingly between worlds. Purple nebulas surrounded the area, shining brightly. Images flashed through your mind. The crimson raiders, the black haired girl, the vault key and a gargantuan beast.  
Suddenly, Lilith came into view, “Heya Handsome.” She winked before reeling back and hitting you hard. A blinding pain exploded through your face, then everything faded away. 

————————————————————————

You felt a scream rip from your throat as you shot up in bed. Your face burned, it burned hot and it stung. Your shaky hands reached up to feel the same skin that had always been there. Deep in your mind though, it burned like fire. You could feel the U shape of a vault symbol embedded in your face, though no mark was there.

“What is it!? What’s wrong!?” Ellie yelled, bursting into your room, a huge machine gun ready to take down any intruders. But there were no intruders, only you, looking ragged and scared, hands clutching at a scar that was never there.  
Claptrap, Tannis and a few other crew members peered In curiously at the commotion. 

Lilith shoved past Ellie into your room, “What happened!?” She demanded, approaching you. “Hey? Is everything alright?” She reached out to touch you. 

Lilith. She caused all of this, all of your pain.  
Without thinking, your arm shot up and grabbed her wrist. “Woah!? What the hell?” She tried to break free, but the cybernetics in your arms made your grip like iron. 

You blinked up at her, not looked at what you did until she tried to pull away again. “Oh my gosh,” You said, quickly releasing her. “I’m sorry Lilith….I don’t know what came over me….” All anger drained as you tried to make sense of your emotions. 

Lilith looked at you disturbed and rubbed her wrist. Ellie pushes her aside, “Did y’all have a nightmare hun? We all get em, Pandora does weird things to a person.”

“I….I guess I did….”You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself. “It just…..It felt so real….I could smell and hear things…..” your hand brushed against your face. “....I could feel things…”

“I think that Virus is messing with your head,” Lilith said. She looked almost cautious around you. “I think Tannis should have a look at you now.”

You swung your legs over the side of the bed, “I think that would be a good idea….”


	4. Tannis Observes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tannis runs a checkup on you by the request of Lilith, Ellie invites you to a mission and Rhys acts weird.

“Well, it seems that the energy source in your system is not a virus.” Tannis said, writing something down. “It actually seems to be amplifying your cybernetics.”

“What!?” You and Lilith exclaimed in unison.

“What do you mean amplifying?” Lilith asked. 

Tannis pulled out a handheld X-ray device and scanned your body, “I mean that all of Y/Ns cybernetics have been enhanced. They are greatly improved and incredibly sturdy. Although…..”

“What is it?” You asked, nervously.

“It seems that a majority of your memory files and information processors have been tampered with.” Tannis took your arm and scanned your implants. “It’s nothing too serious, but it may have slight side effects like the nightmare you so rudely woke us up with.”

“What the hell kind of technology does that?” Lilith asked. “And why would it be hidden in a Hyperion facility?”

“I don’t know,” Tannis admitted. “It could be unused energy amplifying technology. I might have to run a few tests. Could I examine your implants Y/N?”

You groaned, “Alright…..fine.”

“Excellent! I can’t wait to finally observe real Promethean technology!” Tannis rubbed her hands together.You and Lilith looked at her concerned.  
“Oh, and help Y/N of course…” she backtracked. “....That’s good too...”

“Right,” Lilith put her hands on her hips. “They are in your hands now. I have urgent matters to attend to. I trust you to try and fix this Tannis.” 

Tannis nodded, “Of course Lilith.” She turned to you, scalpel in hand. “Alright, now lay down on your stomach and tell me if I hit your kidneys.”

————————————————————————

“Everything hurts,” You groaned, plopping down next to Ellie on a barstool.

“Hey Y/N,” she greeted. “Everything alright after last night?” 

“I guess,” you shrugged. “Tannis just spent two hours reassembling my spine, so that was fan-friggin-tastic.”

Moxxie came over to you, cleaning a glass, “I’m glad to see you up again sugar, you gave us a mighty scare last night. Can I get you anything?”

“I’m fine, Pumpkin,” you said absentmindedly.

She raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, “Pumpkin? Are you sure you’re ok?”

You blinked, “Yeah ...I'm not too sure where that came from…” It was weird, you would never give cutesy nicknames to anyone, let alone Moxxie!

“If you say so, Sugar.” Moxxie shrugged, still seeming slightly concerned.

“You coming on our mission tonight?” Ellie asked. 

“Mission?” You perked up.

“Yeah!” Ellie nodded. “Me, Mordecai and Maya are doing a black ops mission for Brick. There’s been this group of bandit tribes banding together that are getting a little too close to Sanctuary. We’re gonna take ‘em out! Wanna come?”

“Yeah!” You said. “I’d love to help out.”

‘No day is a good day unless you got bandit blood on your hands.’

You frowned. Where did that thought come from? You shook your head, deciding to blame it on a side effect Tannis mentioned. 

Ellie smiled, “Great! We make a great team together.”

You smiled, “We do.” 

The moment was ruined when you felt a buzz, indicating someone was calling. A notification popped up in the right of your vision. “Crap, it’s my boss, I gotta take this.” You apologized to Ellie, slipped into the hall and turned in your ECHO device. 

A tiny hologram of your mustached boss popped out of it. “Hello Agent Y/N.”

“Heya kiddo,” you greeted. You flushed and corrected yourself. “What? No! I mean Mister Strongfork, sorry that just slipped out Sir!”

Rhys’s pixelated face morphed into one of unease, “Uhm, are you ok there agent? You don’t sound like yourself and I haven’t gotten a progress report since you left.”

You mentally facepalmed at your forgetfulness. “I’m sorry sir, it’s just so much has been happening lately!”

“Well, I got time, catch me up,” Rhys gestured for you to continue.

“Well, I’ve mainly been helping Ellie in her Mechanical shop. And the Sanctuary ship is amazing! It isn’t ready for take off yet, but it looks fantastic! We’ve been scavenging power cores from old Hyperion facilities to help power the engines. 

“Oh, I see…” Rhys muttered, sounding as nervous as he always does whenever Hyperion mentioned. “Did you Uhm…..find anything particular in any of them?”

“Uhm, well there was this ECHO device-“

“-WHERE IS IT!?” Rhys yelled and you reeled back. He cleared his throat, his eyes darted around nervously. “Ahem, I mean ...Do you have it?”

“Uh, Tannis has it,” You lie, feeling off put by your bosses behavior.

“Listen. I need you to tell Tannis to return that ECHO device where you found it. Don’t touch under any circumstances.” Rhys said with uncharacteristic seriousness. 

“Why? What is it?” You asked curiously.

“That doesn’t matter. Just do as I tell you,” He demanded.

You eyed him skeptically, and where disturbed to find that he was scared. You have never seen him scared. You’ve never seen anyone that scared before. Whatever Rhys was afraid of, it was now inside you.

“Yes boss.” You responded.

He took a breath, “Good. I’ll check in with you tomorrow.” Then he ended the call.

You took a deep breath and slumped against the wall. What had you gotten yourself into?


	5. Maya on The Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your newfound bloodlust disturbs Maya.

You shifted the gun in your hands, observing its sleek design. Marcus made it for you and painted it with F/C designs all over it.

‘It’ll look even prettier covered in blood.’

That voice again. It commented on seemingly everything, pushing dark thoughts and secrets into your head. 

“Are you ok?” Maya asked. “You seem distracted. You can stay in the Outrunner with Ellie if you like.”

‘And miss out on the bloodshed? Hell no.’

You shoved the thought away along with the anger rising in your chest. Were you going crazy? Where were all these thoughts and misdirected emotions coming from? You smiled at her. You had to admit, you were a pretty big fan and you were insanely lucky to have her as a friend.

“I’m fine Maya, honest.” You said. “Just nervous is all. I’m still new to these missions.” 

“Eh, relax Amigo,” Mordecai said, polishing his rifle. “We got your back.” His bird, Talon, cooed seemingly in agreement. 

“We’re here!” Ellie called. “Y’all remember the plan?”

“Me and Y/N go in from the side, Mordecai is up on the north hill and the rest of the team move in after the initial ambush.” Maya summed up. “Got it.”

Ellie opened the van and you all jumped out. Maya gestured for you to follow. “C’mon, we got work to do.”

You were hardly 12 feet away from camp before gunshots started being fired. You dropped behind a crate near the camp entrance, your heart rate sped up and you felt fear course through you.

“I hope you’re in position Birdman!” Maya yelled over the gunfire into her ECHO comm. She loaded her gun and phase locked a group of bandits, shooting them and dropping their bloody bodies. 

You took a deep breath and placed your gun over the crate, trying to aim without getting shot. Your ECHO eye activated, and suddenly you could see all the thermal signatures through the crate.  
“That’s new,” you thought. 

You took out a whole group of bandits, hitting them straight in the head despite having never shot a moving person. 

‘Come on! Get in there! Go get your hands dirty, you’ll love it.’

The voice said, somehow being heard clearly despite all the gunshots.  
It was like a switch went off in your head. Your nervous fear turned to excitement and glee. You couldn’t die even if you tried to, right? These filthy bandits couldn’t lay a finger on you.

This confidence sparked like a fire, you jumped over the crate and charged into the fray. You had never felt such a rush before, every part of your body was buzzing with energy and you felt joy like no other taking down your enemies. 

Maya phaselocked another group of and you chucked a grenade into it. It exploded, blowing apart the bandits captured within Mayas power. A spray of blood splattered across you, coating you in the thick coppery liquid.

“I think that’s the last of them,” Maya panted, exhausted. Using her powers during the fight must have had quite a toll on her. “We should group up with-“ Maya screamed in pain suddenly, as a bullet went through her shoulder. She collapsed in agony.  
An injured psycho laughed behind her, a gun in hand. 

“Maya! Hang on, I’m coming down!” Mordecai voice came through, but you weren’t listening.

Rage like no other filled every part of your being. You threw your gun aside and slowly walked through the wounded lunatic. 

“Y-Y/N ...What are you doing?” Maya asked weakly, grasping her wounded arm.

The lunatic made a last ditch attempt to limp away from you, but he was far too slow. In a flash, your fingers were tight around his neck. His breathing was shallow and his skin was warm beneath your hands. You tightened your grip and slammed the psycho against a steel pillar.  
“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” you said calmly. “I’m going to wrap my fingers around your throat and squeeze with one hand and I’m going to cut you open with the other and me and my friend are going to see which one kills you first.”  
You moved one hand to the Psychos waist and pulled out his makeshift dagger.

“Just ...just shoot him….” Maya wheezed. 

“Not now, Angel.” You said absently. Your right hand began to squeeze while your left carved a clean line down the middle of the psycho. He screamed and writhed, clawing at your hand to release him, but you wouldn’t budge. Warm entrails spilled out, coating your already bloody clothes and dropping to the ground. His screeching turned into a choked gargle as your hand crushed his windpipe. His squirming ceased, and he went limp.  
You reeled back and threw the mangled corpse, reveling in the crunch of his bones as his body hit the ground.  
You wiped your bloody hands on your pants and turned to Maya who looked at you in a mix of confusion and horror. 

Mordecai ran into the camp, a medical kit in his grasp. He got to work quickly, injecting the medication into Maya and disinfecting the area. The wound healed, leaving a small scar. Mordecai helped her to her feet. 

His eyebrows raised as he laid eyes on you, “What the hell happened?” 

You smiled, “Oh, y’know, one of those bastards refused to die and I got a little carried away is all!”

Maya looked at you concerned, “A little? Y/N, you tortured the guy! You are drenched in blood and...what’s going on with your eye?” 

“My eye?” You asked.

“Your ECHO eye, it’s bright yellow,” Maya said. “I thought it was blue.”

You lifted your hand up, touching the area around your eye. “That’s unusual….” you muttered, confused as the rush of battle faded. 

Mordecai and Maya shared a concerned look. 

————————————————————————

“Hey Lil, we’re back!” Ellie called as you, Maya, Mordecai and the others walked into the ships hull. Maya was slung around Mordecais shoulders as he helped her walk. The hull was bustling with Raiders and Sanctuary Citizens alike. You could only imagine how busy it would be once it was actually up in space. 

“Oh, Hey Ellie. Thanks for clearing those bandits up.” Lilith turned. She immediately frowned at the sight of you drenched in blood. “What the hell! Are you alright!?”

“Oh I’m fine, don’t worry, it’s not my blood.” You said nonchalantly. “Should of seen the guy it came out of though, he was like UGHH! and his guts were like SPLOOSH!” You chuckled and put your hands on your hips. “It was awesome.”

Lilith looked from you to Maya,clearly disturbed “Did they...hit their head?” Maya shrugged 

————————————————————————

“Ok, what the hell is wrong with Y/N!?” Lilith asked. 

Mordecai pursed his lips, “Ever since that Power core mission they’ve been acting strange. And not normal strange, crazy strange.”

“This must have something to do with the energy transfer that occurred while we were in the Hyperion facility.” Lilith reasoned.

“Are you sure?” Asked Zer0. “Perhaps they are just enjoying the hunt.” 

“It wasn’t a hunt though…” Maya said. “It was a full blown bloodbath. They had the gun in their hand and they tossed it aside in favour of tearing the psycho apart...and they looked like they enjoyed it ...”

“Ok, so even if the energy thing DID cause all the power changes, it doesn’t make sense that their entire personality would change.” Axton pointed out. “Besides, why should you care? Tina acts weird all the time.”

“Tina's different,” Lilith said, looking out the window. “Tina had it hard as a kid and she is a a born and raised Pandoran. Weird behavior is what we can expect with her. Something about Y/N doesn't sit right with me.”

“I agree,” Maya said. “I'm used to the sweet, flustered Promethean nerd, not this.”

Lilith sighed and rubbed her temples, “I’ve got too much to deal with right now… I can’t make Y/N my priority. Can I trust you to keep an eye out for them, Maya?”

Maya hesitated, then nodded, “Of course.”


	6. Memories and Maps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya and you have a chat.

“Amazing…..” You whispered.  
Holograms projected from the palm of your hand, lighting up your room. It displayed maps leading to Vaults across the galaxy. You had no idea your memory drive contained such information. Surely Rhys would have mentioned something about this in your program, right?  
A knock came at your door.  
“Come in,” you called.

Maya opened the door and peered in. She frowned as she views the holographic map illuminating in the room. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not sure..” You said softly, looking up at all of the holographic planets in awe.

Maya relaxed at seeing your usual nervous demeanor. She stepped into your room and looked up at the planets, “This is amazing ...where did you get this map?”

“I...I don’t know ...I think I must’ve downloaded it from that ECHO drive…..” You shrugged.  
Your eyes met Mayas and you sighed, retracting the hologram into your hand. “Look ...I'm sorry how I acted back on our mission….I don’t know what came over me……” You dropped your gaze, staring down at your feet.

Maya noticed the conflicted gaze on your face, “Hey ...it's ok ...you got carried away is all...it happens” She absentmindedly traced the siren symbols on her arm. “I just ...didn't expect anything like that from you….”

“I know….” You plopped on your bed and buried your face in your hands. “I would never in a million years...at least I thought I would never ...do something like that…”

The siren sat next to you and put a hand on your shoulder. You jumped as a shock went through you from the contact and the energy from Mayas tattoos caused your underlying wires to light up and glow from under your skin. Maya hastily drew her hand back and you shared a look before bursting into nervous laughter.

You sat in comfortable silence for a bit, both lost in your own thoughts until Maya spoke up. “Back on the battlefield….you called me Angel ...why?” 

“I did?” You frowned, trying to remember, but all thoughts from the battle were blurry. “I don’t know….it’s like...never mind….”

“Like what?” Maya pushed. 

You met her eyes, wondering if you should tell her. A sigh escaped, “It's going to sound crazy but….I think I have somebody else’s memories….”

Mayas blue eyebrows shot up, “Ok, I wasn’t expecting that...go on…”

“I know! It sounds crazy I-“ You ran a hand through your hair. “I think it happened when I got that virus from the ECHO device ...It's like I don’t have full control over myself.”

“What? Did you tell Tannis!?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because.” 

“Because why?” She prodded. 

“I just can’t! Alright!?” You raised your voice. “Ever since I got promoted by Rhys I’ve been in and out of hospitals being enhanced and upgraded over and over again.” You clench your fists. “Then I get sent here and for the smallest amount of time I’m free! Then one mishap and suddenly I’m trapped in a lab again…” You flopped on your back and stared up at the ceiling. “Whatever...you wouldn’t get it.”

Maya regarded you quietly, “I do…”

“What?”

“I do get it.” She repeated. “I grew up surrounded by monks. I spent all my time being forced in the spotlight, forced into the role of a savior. I was never allowed out, all I did was train and train and train. I know how you feel, it’s terrible.” Maya sighed. “It’s like you are-.” 

“-trapped.” You finished, looking at Maya with newfound interest. “Yeah….”

She flopped down next to you, staring at the ceiling. “Could you...do that hologram map again?”  
You held out your palm and light flowed from it, projecting on the ceiling.  
She pointed at Pandora, the orange planet orbited by Elpis. “I remember my first time opening a vault.” She said. “The vault of the warrior.”  
You sent a command into the map. It zoomed in on Pandora and the planets were replaced with the interior of a volcano. The huge vault gate shone in the distance. Your face burned just looking at it.  
“That was around 7 years ago, when I first came to Pandora. It was just me, Gaige Axton, Salvador, Zer0 and...Kreig…” She faltered at that last one. “We were one hell of a team. We worked under Roland and Lilith.”

“Roland?” You asked.

“You...never got the chance to meet him…” a tight smile spread across her face. “He was a great leader, Liliths done her best without him but….she still misses him.”

“What happened to him.”

“He was killed by Handsome Jack.” Maya took a shaky breath. 

Your chest seized. A brief memory flashed through your mind. Aiming a pistol and the back of a soldier. A gunshot and he falls to the floor dead.  
“He was shot…..” You said. “In a Hyperion facility…” Memories flooded back into your head. “After you killed his daughter Angel….”

Maya looked at you shocked, “How...How did you know that? No one has ever been told about Angel besides my vault hunting team and Lilith.” 

“I....I just ...know somehow….” You said, sitting up. “I know she was imprisoned, she was a siren-“

Maya sat up suddenly, she put her hands on your shoulders and stared straight into your eyes, “Y/N. I need you to tell me everything about the memories that are in your head.”

‘Don’t tell her. She’ll kill you.’

You ignored the voice. You had to tell her. “I don’t know how to explain them...they just come! Like that nightmare I had..”

“What happened in your nightmare?” 

“It was really weird ...I can’t describe it. Why are you so curious all of the sudden?” You asked.

“Because I have a theory,” Maya explained. “But...I need proof….”

“Proof?” You blinked. “Maya, what are you-“

“Do you trust me?” She asked suddenly.

“I-uh of course..” You answered. 

“Good. I’m going to put you in a Phasetrance. Whatever you do, do not try to wake up. Got it?” She asked seriously.

You hesitated. What was she on about. You nodded, “I got it.”

“Good.”

Then everything went dark. 

—————————-—————————-—————

The same dream repeated. This time clearer and brighter then before. You could smell Liliths perfume as she came out of the portal.  
“Heya Handsome.” 

Then blinding agony. You felt it in full just like the first time. Through the burning skin and cauterized mark, you could feel the heat had made you go blind in one eye. You yelled in pain and clutched the wound.  
“Agh! Son of a-“ You let out another yell of pain, burning agony and hate consuming your thoughts. “I’m gonna kill her. I’m gonna kill them all!” 

A new scene came into play, one you hadn’t seen before. You were crying, your one good eye leaking tears in racking sobs as you cradled the body of a beautiful teenage girl in your arms. No breath came from her form and she gazed blankly at the sky. You brushed the hair from her face, revealing one green eye mismatched from her grey one. “My Angel….” You sobbed, clutching her close.

Suddenly you were in a huge volcano, identical to the one Maya had shown you. Lilith stood beside you, clearly injured. You felt your body was battered and broken, you were dying.  
“I wasn’t supposed to die at the hands of a child killing psychopath!” You yelled. You pointed a bloody hand at the vault Hunter. It was Maya, she was younger with bright blue hair cropped short. “You’re a savage! You’re a maniac. You are a bandit and I AM THE GODDAMN HERO!” 

The young Maya raised her pistol, aimed and fired. You felt every single moment of the bullet passing through your skull into your brain.

—————————-—————————-—————

You screamed and jumped back from Maya. You stared at each other, eyes wide and full of fear. 

“W-What the fuck was that!?” You stammered, panting heavily. 

“Oh my god….” Maya whispered. “Y/N ...the memories in your systems…..they’re Handsome Jacks…..”

You felt your breath hitch. It all made sense now. The pain, the anger, the voice….it was all falling into place. You felt sick and a painful pounding sensation was starting in your head. “I don’t feel so good….” 

“Y/N? Are you ok?” Maya asked. “Y/N…..don’t…...you cant…...it’s not ...whatever….”

Her voice faded into hazy white noise as you felt your mind slip.


	7. Rhys’s Peice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maya sends you to Rhys to try and fix the problem.

You awoke in a Tannises office and groaned. It seemed that ending up with Patricia was becoming a habit.

The doctor was nowhere to be seen, instead, Maya sat looking at you, sitting in a backwards chair. “Hey….” She greeted.

“Hey,” You responded. A pain shot through your head and you winced. “Seeing that I’m still alive I take it you didn’t tell Tannis or Lilith”

“Yeah,” She dropped her gaze. “I couldn’t...Lilith would kill you…”

“Of course she would…..” You sighed, sitting up.

“Look, about what happened…” Maya started. “I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine how that felt……..”

You felt rage well up at the memory of it.

‘This bitch thinks she can put you through all that and get away with it?’

You grit your teeth, trying to suppress the anger, “Yeah….I don’t want to talk about it…….” 

Maya rested her chin in her hands, “I figured not. Look, I’m not going to tell anyone about this, your a good friend and I don’t want to be responsible for you being hurt. But, we can’t not do anything about it either.”

You frowned, “What do you mean?”

“Obviously this virus is affecting you. I mean, it’s almost like you are ...becoming Jack…” Even saying it shook Maya to her core. “I suggest you take a short vacation to Promethea with Zer0 and have Rhys help you figure this out. 

“What!?” You looked at her shocked. “C’mon cupcake, I’ve hardly been away for a month! You can’t send me back!”

She bristled at the nickname. “I know. But you are just too dangerous to be around.” 

“Dangerous?” You snorted. “Maya, you know me, I’m far from dangerous.”

“Yes I know! But I also know just how dangerous Jack is!” Maya yelled exasperated. “Me and Lilith killed him for a reason, he ruined Pandora, he tortured Tannis….He imprisoned his own fucking daughter!”

The rage erupted inside your chest. The next thing you knew, your hands were wrapped around Mayas neck, pinning her against a wall “Dont talk about Angel you fucking bandit!” You spat.  
Your ECHO device scanned her. Her breathing and heart rate was increased, she was scared of you. “You and Lilith killed her, and then killed me. You put a bullet right through my head.”

“Not...you Y/N…” Maya choked out. “..Jack...We killed Jack…….”

“Oh my dear Siren,” You chuckled and your grip tightened. “Soon there won’t be a difference…”  
An energy waved shot out from Maya, her powers defending her. You were thrown back to the floor. Maya gasped for breath.

You head hit the ground and spots flashed in your vision. Confusion filled your senses, why...why would you say that? It was like someone else was speaking for you. You shakily lifted your head, only to be face to face with the barrel of a pistol.

“Prove you’re Y/N.” Maya demanded. 

It finally dawned on you how severe this virus had gotten. It was controlling you. “Oh...Uhm...alright.” You said shakily. “Your boyfriend is named Kreig and he used to bring you necklaces of teeth.” 

Maya lowered the pistol, but still looked guarded. “Y/N,” she said firmly. “We need to get you out of here.”

You took a deep breath. “Yeah…..yeah alright. Let’s go to Promethea.”

————————————————————————

“Thanks for agreeing to go back to ATLAS headquarters with Y/N.” Maya said turning to Zer0. 

“No problem, Maya.” He seemed preoccupied as he set up the fast travel teleporter.

Maya turned to you. You met her gaze feeling bad about everything that happened. She lay a hand on your shoulder, “I hope Rhys can help you. I really do.”

“I hope so too…” You sighed. Maya wrapped her tattooed arms around you and hugged you lightly. You said your farewells before jumping into the fast travel device with Zer0. You waved to Maya before disappearing in a flash.

Your stomach turned as you felt your body rematerialize in front of the familiar ATLAS facility. You smiled up at the red building. It always felt nice to be home. You stepped forward to the entrance, and were immediately held back by Zer0s blade pressed to your neck. Your breath hitched and you looked at him confused.

“Don’t do anything funny, Jack.” He said monotone

‘This bandit thinks he can threaten you?’

The voice in your head scoffed. “Alright…”You just muttered to Zer0, looking nervous.  
The two of you entered ATLAS. The familiar bustle of employees and tech geeks brought a warm feeling to you. Before you were sent off with the raiders, you had focused on hacking and screwing over Maliwan. It was great.

The bustle, however, slowed down as you and Zer0 proceeded to the elevator. You could tell they were whispering about you. Everyone at ATLAS had been told of the hacker turned Crimson Raider. Satisfaction and confidence filled you and you stood a little straighter. It felt good to be respected. 

The elevator doors closed behind you and slowly lifted you and Zer0 up through the facility. He was quiet the entire time, making you feel tense and uneasy.  
You had to stop a sigh of relief from escaping as the doors finally opened to Rhys’s office. Huge aquariums surrounded the entryway. You scanned them out of habit, identifying the different fishes. 

You and Zer0 continued down the hallway to Rhyses desk. He stood, pacing back and forth nervously. His hair was a mess and his tie was undone. It looked as if he hadn’t slept in weeks. 

“Hello, bro,” Zer0 greeted, causing Rhys to jump. “I trust you got Mayas transmission?”

Rhys nodded, “Yeah…” he turned to you. “So it’s true then...that Handsome Jack is in your head?” 

You shrugged, “That’s one way to put it…”

“Shit…” Rhys ran his fingers through his hair. “I thought I hid that thing away for good.

You remembered how Rhys freaked out when you reported to him. He clearly knew of the Viruses existence. Memories flashed in your head. A vault key, Vaughn, A woman with a white hat, a beautiful girl with goggles, the GORTYS project, a loader bot and the fall of Helios. It made sense why Rhys had freaked out when you had told him about the ECHO device.

“So, is Jack here? Like ...as a hologram?” Rhys asked. 

You snorted, “No? He isn’t like an entity. I just have his memories…”

Rhys looked at you in shock, “His….his memories?”

You nodded, “Yeah…..”

“It’s becoming a problem, Rhys.” Zer0 interjected. “The memories work as a virus.”

“Uhm...what do you mean?” He asked. “Isn’t he just in their systems?”

“No. He’s becoming their systems Rhys.” Zer0 said. “Maya says that the lines between Y/N and Jack have been...well, starting to blur.”

“Jesus Christ….” Rhys looked like he was about to have an anxiety attack. “So Uhm...what is it you remember?”

At that moment, it was as if something had seized control of you. Confidence and hatred mixed into an ugly cocktail as memories of Rhys flowed in your head. Your face split into a grin. “I remember you and your nerdy muscular friend stuck in the desert, I remember that hot chick with the dreadlocks that made you so shy all the time.” You felt laughter build up. “Oh! Oh and Vasquez! I remember we had to get his face and the freaking bandits had pulled him apart.” You nearly doubled over, racked with giggles. “And then we got the body and a psycho came and friggin blew it up!” You snorted and tried to regain your composure, however , the memory of a young Rhys wincing as he pulled a face pizza off of a psycho was making it very hard to remain straight faced. 

Rhys was white as a sheet, he stumbled back as if you had slapped him. “Jack….” he whispered, barely audible.

Zer0 pulled out his blade as a warning. You held up your hands in defense. “Hey! I’m sorry! I’m just recalling what I remember…” You frowned. “I mean, what Jack remembered...god this is confusing…”  
You tangled your fingers in your hair. “I can’t...it’s getting so hard to remember stuff about myself ...it's like Jacks memories are overpowering mine…” You admitted. 

Rhys looked equal parts interested and horrified, “That is ...certainly concerning…” he cleared his throat and tried to straighten up. “Alright, Y/N. We are going to run some cerebral tests to check up on your cybernetics and stuff. Then, maybe we can get some answers.”

————————————————————————

“This is supposed to help?” You asked, looking skeptical at all the wires plugged into your back ports. 

“It should,” Rhys said. A cybernetics specialist sat at a monitor, watching your electronics and vitals closely. She was the only person there besides you and Rhys.

“Olivia here is going to monitor you while I ask some questions,” Rhys said. “This shouldn’t take long, just sit still and try not to kill us.”You scanned him, he was clearly nervous.

‘A nervous train wreck, typical Rhys. Hasn’t changed a bit’

The voice sounded...almost clearer. 

“Ready?” Rhys asked. You nodded.”Alright, here we go.” He pulled up a hologram. “Where were you born?”

“Where was I born? Eridium Blight.” You frowned. “No, that isn’t right...I wasn’t born on Pandora...At least I don’t think I was…..”

“Ok, this is bad..” Rhys typed up something on the holograms. “Next question, who are your parents?”

You opened your mouth, but found to your horror that you couldn’t remember. “I….I don’t….” You ran a hand through your hair, racking your brains. Nothing came up. But that was impossible! Surely you would remember the people who raised you, right? “I can’t remember….” you whispered.

Rhys looked at you uneasy, “You ...can't at all?”

You shake your head, trying to look further into your memories. It was not only your parents, it was your childhood, your past…...all reduced to mere flashes in your mind. “I can’t remember ...anything……”

“Rhys, you should look at this,” Olivia said, her voice unsteady.”

Rhys peered over at her screen and his eyes widened, “Oh my god….” 

“What is it?” You asked, worried. 

“It’s nothing, I’m sure it all fine…” Rhys tried to assure. Your ECHO eye scanned his heart rate, breathing patterns. He was obviously lying. “Let’s continue this later….Olivia, can you please escort Y/N to her old room? I need a moment to...erm ...reflect...on this data…”

————————————————————————

“How bad is it?” Maya asked, her holographic face racked with worry.

“It's ...pretty bad…” Rhys admitted. “I’m going to be honest, I have no idea how to fix this.”

“Surely there must be some kind of cure for this virus,” Zer0 insisted. “You managed to get rid of Jack once, you can do it again.”

“That’s the thing,” Rhys sighed. “It’s bad enough that if Jack goes, Y/N does too.”

Maya frowned“How is that possible!? You told me that the ECHO device Y/N touched was just an AI.” 

“It was! But it must have changed somehow. For all I know, Jack recoded it while he was dormant, likely expecting me to put it back in my head.” Rhys shivered at the memory of having the maniac in his brain. He literally had to tear out his cybernetics to get rid of Jack.

“So what are we left to do?” Maya asked. “I can’t tell Lilith or Tannis, they would kill Y/N.

Rhys shrugged, “I’m not sure, we might have to wait and se-“  
Suddenly, a huge explosion echoed in the distance, Zer0 and Rhys stumbled as Mayas hologram flickered. 

“What the hell was that?” Maya asked. 

Rhys clambered to his feet and ran over to his window overlooking Promethea. A huge assault ship soared overhead,orange lettering clear on its side. “Maliwan….” He breathed


	8. Interruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zer0 loves Rhys as much as he hates Handsome Jack.

The ground shook, causing you to trip.

“What’s going on!?” You asked, leaning against the wall for support.

“That would be Maliwan,” Olivia said, seemingly unfazed. 

You eyed her calm expression. “You seem awfully unconcerned by this.”

“Of course I am.” She smiled slightly and aimed a gun at your chest. “I’m the one who organized it.” 

Your eyes widened, but before you had the chance to react she pulled the trigger. A dart shot out and embedded itself in your shoulder.  
“You bitch,” You hissed. In a flash, she found herself being strangled against the wall, your hands tight around her neck. “I’ll fucking kill you, traitor.” You spat, but your threats were empty as the drugs within the dart started to take hold. You were overcome with sleepiness and you felt your movements become weak and slow. Your grip loosened around Olivia's neck as your cybernetics became unresponsive, and it only took a light shove from her to disengage your attack.  
You stumbled, then collapsed on the floor, fighting back sleep and sending a last minute emergency signal to Rhys.

Olivia smiled, “Don’t worry. It’s not Rhys that Katagawa is after. Its onl-“

In a flash, a sword severed her head from her neck, splattering your face with blood. The body collapsed, revealing a bloodsoaked Zer0. He turned his masked gaze to you, giving off an air of irritation. He knelt down and shoved a syringe into your wrist, injecting the antidote to whatever poison you have been shot with. 

“Thanks,” You said, as your cybernetics rebooted and the tiredness wore off. “I thought I was a goner for sure.” 

Zer0 hummed and watched as you stumbled to your feet. “We don’t have much time, we need to get on a drop ship back to Sanctuary.”

“But we just got here!” You exclaimed, wiping blood of your face. “I thought we were going to get this...Virus dealt with.”

“ATLAS is a war zone now, Maya demanded for us to get back to the ship.” He tossed you a gun. “Here, we’re heading to the lobby. Stay on your guard.”

You followed him into the elevator. Cleanly cut bodies and severed limbs laid around the lift in a puddle of blood. 

The doors slid closed, and for a split second you saw a scarred face staring back at you. You blinked and it was gone, replaced with your own mismatched eyes. The virus was starting to mess with your head. 

“Be prepared to fight,” Zer0 warned as the elevator started to move down. 

You felt the same shot of excitement at the idea of a fight and your hands started to twitch with anticipation. You felt a smile tug at your face and it took all your willpower not to let it show.

‘Parties about to start baby.’ 

The elevator landed and opened to complete chaos.  
Zer0 was fought like lightning through the hoards of Maliwan soldiers infiltrating the facility. The body parts of ATLAS employees and Maliwan alike littered the floor. 

A group of soldiers turned their attention to you. They hardly had time to raise their guns before you picked them off. Their armour was practically useless compared to the strength of your cybernetics.  
One swung a fist at your face, and you caught it. You squeeze and all the tiny bones and tendons snap in your grip. The guard screamed and you shoved him aside.  
Another came at you with a stun baton, the design obviously stolen from ATLAS. Typical Maliwan.  
You swung it out of his hands and shoved it deep into his chest. The top melted his armor and burned away the flesh underneath. He spasmed as the electricity flowed through him and you used a single gunshot to the head to finish him off.  
The last soldier was unfortunate enough to have his helmet knocked off and it took only one swift punch to shatter his nose. You knocked him to the ground and wrapped your hands tight around his neck. You squeezed, and he struggled beneath your hands. Strangled gasps escaped his throat and his eyes rolled back as his body begged for oxygen.  
It felt as fantastic as it had back on Pandora when that bandit scum had threatened Angel.  
Angel.  
No, it had been Maya. They were different people. Where was Angel then? 

“Hey.” Zer0s voice snapped you out of your trance. 

You looked down to find the soldier's neck had been crushed to pulp beneath your hands. You felt a strong disconnect, like your body and mind were lagging between thought and action.

“We don’t have time for this,” he hissed, wiping blood off his blade.

You sat back and wiped the sweat from your face, leaving a bloody smear. You gave him a winning smile. “Aw come on, I’m just getting started.” 

“I said no games,” He pulled out his blade and put it to your throat. 

“Come on, you know Rhys would never forgive you for killing me.” You smiled and stood up. “Besides, you had your win already down in that volcano.”

Zer0 didn’t budge. 

“What, that time wasn’t enough for you? I should have known you child murdering bandits would-GAH!” A strong electrical shock shot through your spine, causing every single muscle to burn and all the air to squeeze out of your lungs. You kneeled over, wheezing and regaining control over yourself. All the remaining adrenaline and bloodlust leached out of you.  
“What was that!?” You gasped.

“EMP. Rhys implanted it in your spine while you were being studied.” Zer0 said simply. “It’s supposed to keep you under control.” 

“That seems a little harsh,” You mumble, stumbling to your feet. 

Zer0 scanned the area, “Brutal problems count for brutal solutions, Jack.” 

“Can you please stop calling me Jack?” You asked, rubbing your bloody hands on your clothes in hopes to clean up slightly.

Zer0 cocked his head to the side, “Why?”

“Because I’m my own person! You know me! I’m a crimson Raider just like you!” You exclaimed. “My name is Y/N and I was born in……” Horror arose at the realization that you had no idea. The only thing that would come to mind was Eridium blight, and you weren’t born there. Right? You think you weren’t….  
“Where was I born?” You asked, as if Zer0 knew the answer.

He cautiously put a hand on your shoulder. You looked at him surprised, he hadn’t shown any friendliness since he was first informed of your virus.“Look, I know you are a good bro to Rhys, but you are also a threat. I need to prepare to kill you should the need arise.”

“And will it?” You asked fearfully.

“I don’t know,” Zer0 admitted.

Another explosion came as more Maliwan troops flooded the area.

“We need to get you back to Maya.” Zer0 said, dodging behind a broken pillar. 

“B-but the virus!” You protested. “Rhys has to help!”

“There is nothing Rhys can do to help while under seige. Now let’s get moving before any more of these douches decide to kill us.”

————————————————————————

“Well, that was a bust,” Maya sighed, leaning against the wall of her room.

“At least we were able to pinpoint an origin,” you added, trying to cheer up the gloomy news.

“Even if ATLAS hadn’t been attacked, I doubt we would have been able to fix it,” Zer0 pointed out. “This technology is 100% Hyperion. Rhys would be the only one who nows how it works, and he wouldn’t dare touch the thing.”

Maya rubbed her temples, “Is there any chance another former Hyperion employee lurking around.”

You and Zer0 perked up, simultaneously having the same thought;

Vaughn.


	9. Ruins of Helios

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Maya enlist Vaughn’s help to look for a cure for your virus.

“Hello my fellow bros,” Vaugh greeted as you and Maya entered his room.

It was small, tucked away near the main hall and decked out in posters from different Pandora attractions. There was a few of ATLAS promotion stuff, mainly picturing Rhys. Vaughn day on his bed, in nothing but a majestic cape and a pair of underwear. He was polishing a huge gun that looked like it had been through hell. 

Maya closed his door and locked it. “Vaughn, we need your help with something, but you can’t under any circumstances tell Lilith.”

Vaughn perked up, “Secrets! I can keep secrets. I am fantastic at keeping secrets. My mind is like a steel trap baby! I got all sorts of stuff locked up in here, mainly passwords and numbers from when I was an accountant. Did you w I used to work for Hyperion?”

“That’s, kind of what we are here to talk about,” You cut in.

‘God, he never used to ramble so much. Looks like Pandora finally got to him.’ 

Vaughn looked at you, observing your every feature and causing you to shift uncomfortably under his gaze. “You’re the coder from Promethea. You work for Rhys right? Y/N was it? He talks about you a lot, says you are a great worker.”

Your face went red and your ECHO eye indicated your heartbeat had sped up. You never expected your boss to pay any attention to you.

“Look,” Maya said, not keen on small talk. “Y/N has a really big problem and you might be the only one who is able to solve it.”

He set aside his gun and nodded, “Alright, no pressure then. What’s your problem?”

You took a deep breath, “I have a virus that contains the mind of Handsome Jack.” You blurted.

Vaughn went pale, the same way Rhys had. He opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. He looked completely stunned. “I-I….are you sure?” He choked out.

“Yes, they have his memories and everything.” Maya crosses her arms. “And it’s becoming a huge problem.”

“It’s not an AI like it was in Rhys,” You explained. “It’s his memories, his personality…...it’s taking over my mind.”

‘Oh please,’ the voice scoffed. It was clear as day, and sounded like a whisper in your ear. ‘Don’t be so dramatic. You love the power you're being given. Your systems are a small price to pay for the Hyperion kingdom.’

You felt the familiar pattern start to tingle on your face, it stung with phantom pain.

Vaughn pinched the bridge of his nose, “And we aren’t telling Lilith this because…..”

“Because if she knew what was happening, she would kill Y/N.” Maya said. 

“Why haven’t you killed them yet?” He asked

“What!?” You and Maya asked in unison.

Vaughn put his hands up in defense, “I’m just curious! Maya, you know first hand how dangerous Handsome Jack is, you should have killed Y/N as soon as you figured it out, so why haven’t you?”

Maya glanced at you, “Because….Y/N is a crimson Raider. And I’ll do whatever it is to help them.”

“That’s a real sweet sentiment that Handsome Jack doesn’t share,” Vaughn pointed out. “Look, if he is working like a virus, the chances of getting him out are pretty slim.”

“Just tell us what we need to do,” she insisted.

Vaughn sighed, “Well, all Hyperion products have an emergency shut down in case a virus occurs. Normally it’s a firewall or a cleansing code kept with the files.”

“How do we get one?” You asked. 

“Your going to need to go back to where the Virus came from originally.”

You frowned, “You mean the Hyperion facility?”

Vaughn smirked “Nope, I mean Helios.”

————————————————————————

The ruined space station had been surprisingly well preserved considering all it went through. It shone like a silver beacon in the horizon, beckoning you forth

“How much further?” Maya yelled over the wind blowing around the outrunner.

“Not far!” Vaughn yelled from his spot in the side. His cape flowed in the wind, making him look like some kind of hybrid between Superman and Tarzan. “Y/N, you need to take a left!”

“Got it!” You yelled back. You jerked the wheel to the side, swerving off the main road and out into the badlands.  
After a couple miles of desert, you finally reached Helios.

“Alright! All off at station Helios!” Vaughn exclaimed, hopping off the vehicle.

You and Maya exited the outrunner. She looked at it in awe. “Your telling me Rhys took this down all by himself!?” 

“Yup!” Vaughn smiled. “Drove it right into the ground.”

“Leave it to him to fuck up my space station,” You spat, hate welling up for your boss. “God knows it wasn’t enough to fuck over me, he had to fuck over all of Hyperion...Agh!” An aching pain exploded in your face and head. You stumbled and leant on Maya as you waited for the pain to pass. 

Vaughn’s gaze met yours, terrified. “Your Uhm….your eye changed colour…” He pointed out meekly. You opened your eye to see it was indeed causing a light yellow glow, rather than blue. “Rhys’s used to do the same thing….” He bit his lip. 

“This happened back on our last mission,” Maya explained as she steadied you. “Take it easy.”

“Thanks, Angel,” You muttered, rubbing your temple.

Maya and Vaughn shared an uneasy look. 

————————————————————————

“Welcome to my old digs!” Vaughn gestured to the rubble, voice echoing around the facility ruins.  
“And I Uh…...guess your old digs too….huh Jack?”

Maya nudged him with a disapproving glare.

You scanned the facility and found an overwhelming amount of power remaining in its systems. It caused a pleasant buzz in your cybernetics and you could feel the energy all around. Every computer, broken hologram and dormant robot was emitting enough power to run all of the sanctuary. The same amount that was running through you.  
You pulled up a hologram of the broken spaceship, including every room that had been there previously. 

“Where do we even start?” Maya asked, kicking over a piece of wall. 

“We could try my-Jacks office.” You said, catching yourself. You enhanced your hologram and showed it to your companions. “The memories around the fall of Helios are a bit hazy, but I am able to track Rhys’s old cybernetic arm.”  
A yellow dot blinked on the map, a ways away from the main wreckage. 

“Uhm….his arm?” Vaughn asked, looking uncomfortable. “The one he tore out to get rid of Jack?”

“Yes, that one,” Your lip pursed was the memory played out in your head. Rhys pulling out his eye, impaling his arm…..ripping out his head port all in a gory display of ‘fuck you.’ 

‘That asshole didn’t stop at anything to kill you.’

You shook your head, trying to get the thoughts out. You turned your attention to a hallway, half of it crushed against the sandy ground and caved in with rubble. 

Vaughn nudged Maya, “Mind clearing us a path?”

Maya smiled, “My pleasure.” The siren phaselocked the rubble in a violet orb of energy. With a wave of her hand, it flew out of the hall and cleared the path. 

“Nice work, cupcake,” You waved them to follow into the hallway. “Everyone stay close.”

“It’s too dark,” Vaughn complained. “Even with you glowing like a flashlight I’m practically blind. 

“I could try to reboot the Space station,” You said, still feeling the dormant energy flowing throughout Helios. 

Maya frowned, “You shouldn’t strain yourself, you start to slip when you're weak or over exerted.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” You snapped, your voice echoing through the room. A cold feeling welled up as you realized that the voice in your head had managed to talk for you. 

The blue haired siren looked taken aback and Vaughn shrunk behind her. “I didn’t mean to…..”

“Sorry….I….” You took a deep breath, trying to regain yourself. “...Look….Helios has a lot of power, I might be able to bring some things back online.”

You didn’t meet her gaze and pulled up a hologram of Helios’s internal workings. “I just got to re-route some of the electricity.”  
You placed one hand against the wall and immediately felt a shock of power. It caused all your cybernetics to light up like a Christmas tree.  
The loud whir of machinery started and sparks flew from the facility as all the lights and power came back to life. Light illuminated the hall.  
You smiled triumphantly and pulled away from the wall. “See! No big deal.”

Maya and Vaughn looked at you shocked. “That’s incredible!” Vaughn exclaimed. “Where did you get that much energy!? Helios hasn’t been able to run since Me and Rhys used the last moonshot.”

You shrugged. “It’s always been here, I just redirected it.” Turning to the hologram, you pointed to a highlighted route. “We just need to follow this trail.”

Your group proceeded forward, looking around the ruined station. It was like a time capsule of a time when Handsome Jack reigned supreme.  
The hall broke off into the ruins of a huge lobby. The lights were sparking and all of the holograms were glitching out. Pictures and statues of Jacks likeness littered the room and a huge neon sign with flickering letters read: “The Hub of Heroism.”

“What the hell is this?” Maya asked, eyeing a ruined statue of Jack heroically posing. 

“Oh gosh, this place.” Vaughn rubbed the back of his neck. “It was basically Jack's altar to himself. Me and the rest of Hyperion would come here and practically worship the guy.” 

You wandered over to a poster which proudly displayed the Hyperion brand alongside Jack. You absentmindedly copy the pose, placing your hands on your hips. Everything here felt so familiar, it was like deja vu or a dream. 

‘This used to be your home. This was your kingdom.’

“Hey! Check this out!” Vaughn called, snapping you out of your thoughts. You and Maya turned to see him examining what looked to be a destroyed loader bot

“You think it still works?” Maya asked, walking over. 

You followed and frowned at the dilapidated loader, “It looks pretty beat up. Didn’t you and the children of Helios salvage stuff like this?”

He frowned and stood up, “We never went close to anything Jack related. Even the mention of his name became taboo. Everyone switched over to worshipping Rhys.” The thought of your dorky boss being revered as a supreme deity made you chuckle. 

You turned to the side and found a huge hole opening right out into the desert. You pulled up your hologram, “Look, this leads right out to Jack's office.”

You followed it out into the desert. Helios parts littered the place, turning it into a junkyard. After some rough navigation through the garbage, you finally came upon the burnt wreckage of the office. Broken windows surrounded the desk and chair of the tyrant. It was almost completely untouched save for the broken glass.  
Your hologram beeped and you found your tracker had found Rhys’s arm. 

“There is is.” You said.

“I think I’m gonna throw up,” Vaughn mumbles as he looked at the robotic appendage. 

Blood stained the ground where it had been ripped off. A quick scan confirmed it was a DNA match with Rhys. 

“This was his office huh?” Maya said, stepping up onto the platform and looking around. “Must’ve been one hell of a place in its glory day.”

You turned to the desk. A shattered picture frame was on the ground, flipped over. Picking it up, you realized it was Angel. Her smiling face stared back at you, young and full of life.  
Memories of her as a little girl came. Her playing in the field outside, begging to come to work with you and of the time her powers got out of control and killed the woman you loved. Pain exploded in your face and you dropped the frame as if it had burned you. 

In a flash, Maya was at your side. “Y/N! Are you alright!?”

‘She doesn’t care about you,’ the voice scoffed. ‘She’s the one who put a bullet through your head and killed your daughter. 

Maya picked up the photograph and hummed. “I only ever met her once, for the longest time she was just a disembodied voice. I still forget that she’s human.”

“We need to get looking,” You said, wanting to avoid the subject of Angel as much as possible. You opened the desk and rifled through the drawers. It was mostly filled with guns and souvenir bullets.

“Uh, does this port thingy have any value?” Vaughn asked, picking up a metal device protruding from the chair. 

“Let me see that!” You kneeled down and took it from him. 

“What is that?” Maya asked. 

“It’s an electronics port, they are used to transfer information between cybernetics and devices.” You explained.

“Rhys used to have one to back up memories,” Vaughn added.

Maya crossed her arms “We are absolutely not going to stick that in you.”

“We came here to find something to get rid of this virus and this could be the solution!” You said. 

She faltered, “Look, I’m just worried that it’s going to hurt you.”

“That’s a risk I’m ready to take,” You said.

You moved your hair out of the way, revealing the port on your neck. You inserted the device and immediately felt burning in every part of your body. You collapsed to the ground and everything went black.


End file.
